Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd)

Designation: Director

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Education:
The current Director of the National Maritime Foundation, Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan has an impeccable academic and professional lineage. He is an alumnus of Mumbai’s Campion School and St Xavier’s College, the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College, the Naval War College, and, the very prestigious National Defence College; and holds a BSc, an MSc and an MPhil degree.

Experience
He has had an extremely distinguished four-decade-long career in the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy. During this period, he:
• Undertook a three-year deputation to the Government of Mauritius, where he conceptualised, set up and commanded the Mauritius National Coast Guard.
• Was Head of Training Team (Navy) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
• Has been the principal evaluator of the Navy’s battle-tactics.
• Tenanted the post of Principal Director of Naval Operations.
• Has held as many as four sea-going commands, including that of the guided-missile frigate, the INS Brahmaputra and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
• Was the Navy’s first Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence), where he was hugely successful in in positioning the Navy firmly within India’s diplomatic and strategic initiatives.
• Conceptualised and executed the Indian Ocean Region’s first international maritime security construct of the 21st Century, viz., the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).
• Was Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command from 2009 to 2012.
• Commanded the new and state-of-the-art Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala (Kerala) until his retirement on 30November 2013.
• Has been twice commended by the Chief of the Naval Staff and three times by the President of India for sustained distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Publications:

Not one to rest on past laurels, he has remained active even after retirement and is a much sought-after leadership mentor and an outstanding orator. Over the past three years he has been repeatedly invited to speak upon an impressive array of subjects to discerning audiences in India and abroad, and has mesmerised them all. He is also a prolific writer on maritime affairs and leadership issues. In the 3¾ years since his retirement, he has had as many as 70 professional articles and papers published in a large variety of Indian and foreign journals and magazines. His latest book, entitled “India’s Maritime Strategy", which has been commissioned by the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, is presently in its final stages.He enjoys widespread renown as an incisive strategic analyst and is on the visiting faculty of the higher-command establishments of all three of India’s defence services, as also tri-Service establishments such as the College of Defence Management, Hyderabad and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He is also a well-respected adviser to other important think-tanks such as the Ananta-Aspen Centre and the Centre for Advanced Strategic and Security Studies.